Finding Unauthorized Faith…

I ADORE The Walking Dead, especially Hershel. In the episode, “Welcome to the Tombs,” Hershel leaves behind his Bible with the page folded back and a verse highlighted for the Governor:

And shall come forth: they that have done good, unto resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. ~ John 5:29

In this passage, Jesus is speaking to the religious leaders. They did not like Jesus at all. Because he didn’t obey the Law the way they thought he should. The way that put them on a pedestal and everyone else groveling at their feet. Rather, Jesus came and obeyed the Law in the way God intended—with love, grace, and mercy. He didn’t ask to be put on a pedestal. When people tried to, he shied away from them. He even got down and did the servant’s task of washing feet.

It is ironic and not if you consider the character of Hershel, that he would leave this verse for the Governor. A man who clearly loves to be in power. A man that does not stop people groveling at his feet. A man who beats others over the head with his laws rather that loving them and extending grace and mercy. The Governor is a lot like the religious leaders of Jesus’s day (and maybe even some in our own time). He says he’s good. He says his way is right. He says no one can survive without him. But everything he speaks is a lie meant to prop him up more.

As I was reading the Bible today, I stumbled across this very interesting verse,

So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me.Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies.Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me.” ~ John 7:16-19 NLT

To me, this revealed an interesting principle: Those who seek for themselves and their glory should not be trusted.